Nobody There
by SilverStreaksofStardust
Summary: A nightmare in which Frank can't escape. He's scared—why can't anyone hear him? Who will help him? Why, it's a certain fire-bender!


**A/N** : Interesting fact: When I wrote this, I was in an angst-y mood. I always have a soft spot for Frank; he's one of my favourite characters. You may not notice, but my poetic side really came through.

If you're wondering what the heck happened to Calypso, she's still on the island because I hate her. Just kidding. And I actually did write a Caleo story. I hope Rick Riordan writes something that actually makes me like Caleo even more—I only tolerate the Titaness because of Leo Valdez, who is the greatest demigod ever.

As you can see, I didn't edit that much. (15/03/2016)

 **Disclaimer:** With the exception of my own plots/OC's, etc.; Rick Riordan owns the rest (quotes, characters, etc.).

 **Warnings** : Slash, Valzhang (Leo/Frank) pairing

* * *

 **.: Nobody There :.**

 _Exposure to Fire_

"Looking back, I have this to regret, that too often when I loved, I did not say so."

\- RAY STANNARD BAKER

* * *

 **Frank stared** at the broken shards of glass, scattered around the floor. Whenever he peered closely in it, all he could see was his deformed reflection.

He wondered what it was supposed to mean. This dream seemed strange –usually all he could think of was fire. He was standing in the middle of nowhere—there was complete silence.

Dirt began to fall from the sky, instead of rain. It fell like an hourglass: slowly covering everything.

Frank spluttered as some dirt dropped in his mouth. He knew he had to get off the ground—fast. He willed his body to form into a dragon. However, he couldn't concentrate with his mind panicking as the dirt descended more quickly.

 _This is just a dream_ , he reminded himself. His throat ran dry, as the grime went up to his knees already. How fast was the dirt descending?

He pulled his hood up, and foolishly began to run.

 _How will this help?_ Frank One yelled at himself.

 _Just run_ , Frank Two advised.

"Shut up," Frank muttered. His head felt dizzy, as if he just ran a marathon. Well, trudging through dirt could feel like that. "Hey! Can anybody hear me? Can someone wake me up from this?"

There was no reply.

The only sound that was made was dirt falling rapidly, making tiny sounds while hitting across rocks, the broken glass, or Frank himself.

Why did this feel so _real_? Dreams . . . they shouldn't be like this.

"Dammit! I'm going to die in a _dream_!" Frank figured if he climbed up a tree that stood on a tall rock that will buy him time. Unfortunately, with one investigative gaze, there were none of those things. His mind rapidly skimmed through solutions. Obviously, he couldn't shape-shift—this nightmare prevented that. It also gave no good nature yet provided dirt.

Numbly, he thought of Gaea. She's dead . . . all that's left is her dirt. Was this what the dream was telling him?

"Gods, can anyone hear me?" He shouted once more. This was so unfair. Why couldn't he just wake up?

The dust swirled higher, until it reached his chest.

Fear flared through every inch of Frank's body. "L-Leo?" he gasped. The name escaped his lips, echoing everywhere. He instinctively thought of the annoying son of Hephaestus. His curly brown hair, his mischievous smile. Gods, why was he even thinking –Frank closed his eyes. Every time Leo made joke at Frank's expense, the Chinese-Canadian will secretly enjoy the attention.

The whole Hazel-Frank-Leo love triangle amused Jason, Piper, Annabeth, and Percy.

Yes . . . Frank was jealous. But it was because Hazel had captured Leo's interest. He deemed the Latino to be successful in his funny antic ways. To prevent the love to ever happen, Frank guiltily 'fell in love' with Hazel and they soon became a couple.

On rare occasions, Frank will secretly spy on the Latino and see him cry. It made his heart clench. He desperately wished to comfort the curly-browned boy . . . but it was him who caused the pain. It was selfish of him to keep Leo and Hazel apart. He knew Leo and him will never be together.

Maybe this dream-death didn't seem all that scary. After all, it wasn't real, and he deserved to experience this.

 _If there is one regret in my entire life . . . is that I never admitted my true feelings_ , he thought.

Isn't it strange? When you're about to die, you start regretting your life and saying your confessions.

He braced himself to be suffocated, but instead, his body rose off the ground.

"Am I . . . going to Heaven?" he murmured.

"Nah, you're going to Hell. You've been a bad boy."

Frank snapped his eyes open, looking into a familiar set of warm-brown eyes. "Leo? But—aren't you dead?"

The son of Hephaestus shrugged. "Eh. Remember the cure? Wait—of course you don't. Why will you care when the Gaea War is over?"

The clench in Frank's chest throbbed painfully. "Leo . . ."

"Anyway, did you guys have a party?"

"No, we just relaxed. Listen, Leo—"

"Frank," Leo mimicked in the voice. He dropped to his normal tone. "Anyway, what is this place?"

Frank looked around, noticing for the first time that he was on a dragon. In Leo's arms. He would've blushed, but under these circumstances, all he could feel was guilt.

"Come on, Festus, let's swing around," Leo said.

"The . . . Physician's Cure," Frank said. "Gods, Leo, I'm glad you're alive. Honestly. But this is a weird dream."

"Maybe it isn't."

Festus the Dragon snorted a couple of times.

"Yeah, yeah, I got it."

"What did he say?" the son of Mars wondered.

"None of your business," the younger demigod grumbled. He slowly smiled, cocking his head. "Hey! Why did you say my name?"

"You could hear me?"

"Yep. Do you have a crush on me or something?"

Frank gulped. "I—I—"

"Hey, man! I was only joking! But do you seriously—"

"Yes, I have a crush on you. I'm sorry for everything. I love your laugh, your childish behaviour, and the way you make me forget about every bad thing," Frank blurted out. He ranted off, figuring maybe this will be a sort of redemption for the Latino. "I'm happy you're alive. Thanks for saving me on your dragon. Can you forgive me? You are the most amazing demigod I know—I love you."

"Well, then . . ." Leo looked bewildered. "You could've just said you loved me. But . . . I guess this is the part when we kiss?"

"Yes," Frank breathed.

Right before they were going the kiss, his mind turned fuzzy. The dream ended, going back to Frank lying in his bed at the Roman camp.

"Uhhh . . ." he groaned.

"You okay? Why are you kissing your pillow?"

Frank immediately sat up. "I wasn't—" His words died. "Is that you, Leo?"

Leo Valdez stood, a grin splitting across his face. "Yep! I'm so glad to be back! Man, death feels so . . . weird, right? Well, technically, I was only dead for like five seconds. But still . . ."

Frank wasn't the type of person who will hug. In fact, he liked to have his personal space. But, just this once, he made an exception. He practically suffocated the other half-blood.

"Whoa . . . dude, I love you too!"

The Chinese-Canadian dropped his arms. "W-What?" he stammered. A blush was creeping across his face and neck. "Uhhh . . ."

Leo gave an impish grin, pointedly looking at Frank's lips. "Huh . . . do you want to kiss, also?"

"No!" His heart was saying the opposite thing. This was kind of like déjà vu. "That was just because I missed you." _And I love you_.

"Whatever. The offer still stands until tomorrow. That's when I leave for Camp Half-Blood."

"You're going?" Frank felt deflated. _Don't regret anything_. When Leo started to go out the door, he called, "Wait! Can we kiss now?"

"I thought you'll never ask."


End file.
